This chapter introduces the idea of the ‘gentlemanly social sciences’ that dominated Great Britain not only in the first part of the twentieth century, but well into the 1950s. It shows that there ...
More

This chapter introduces the idea of the ‘gentlemanly social sciences’ that dominated Great Britain not only in the first part of the twentieth century, but well into the 1950s. It shows that there was no easy progression from these gentlemanly social sciences to the ‘new’ social sciences of the 1960s, and describes the dramatic changes which took place between 1955 and 1965 in the conduct of sociological research. The chapter discusses how gentlemanly social sciences prospered in post-war conditions, leading to a reviving synthetic sociology based at the London School of Economics (LSE), and explains how the expansion of the LSE brought tensions between sociology as a specialist discipline and as an overarching evolutionary synthesis to a head.Less

1940: The Resurgence of Gentlemanly Expertise in Post-war Britain

Mike Savage

Published in print: 2010-05-13

This chapter introduces the idea of the ‘gentlemanly social sciences’ that dominated Great Britain not only in the first part of the twentieth century, but well into the 1950s. It shows that there was no easy progression from these gentlemanly social sciences to the ‘new’ social sciences of the 1960s, and describes the dramatic changes which took place between 1955 and 1965 in the conduct of sociological research. The chapter discusses how gentlemanly social sciences prospered in post-war conditions, leading to a reviving synthetic sociology based at the London School of Economics (LSE), and explains how the expansion of the LSE brought tensions between sociology as a specialist discipline and as an overarching evolutionary synthesis to a head.

These chapters not only describe the major changes in British society in recent years, but seek to understand and explain what is happening in British society. One of the themes running through this ...
More

These chapters not only describe the major changes in British society in recent years, but seek to understand and explain what is happening in British society. One of the themes running through this book is that, while there have been rapid changes in overall levels, there have been slower changes in relativities, and this analytical distinction is absolutely fundamental to a proper understanding of contemporary society. The book also considers the wide variety of mechanisms that underlie these changes, in particular processes of social interaction. The complex and often ill-understood nature of these mechanisms may be a major reason why so much social reform has proved ineffective. The verdict on social reforms in education, gender inequalities and ethnic inequalities is rather negative; and sociologists have long been concerned about the unintended consequences of social action, and in the policy field these are frequent. By highlighting the complexities of the causal mechanisms, sociological research can make a major contribution to policy and public debate. While these chapters do not claim that sociology will provide all the answers, they demonstrate that it has made real progress in understanding the social changes that Britain has experienced in recent decades.Less

Understanding Social Change

Published in print: 2005-02-17

These chapters not only describe the major changes in British society in recent years, but seek to understand and explain what is happening in British society. One of the themes running through this book is that, while there have been rapid changes in overall levels, there have been slower changes in relativities, and this analytical distinction is absolutely fundamental to a proper understanding of contemporary society. The book also considers the wide variety of mechanisms that underlie these changes, in particular processes of social interaction. The complex and often ill-understood nature of these mechanisms may be a major reason why so much social reform has proved ineffective. The verdict on social reforms in education, gender inequalities and ethnic inequalities is rather negative; and sociologists have long been concerned about the unintended consequences of social action, and in the policy field these are frequent. By highlighting the complexities of the causal mechanisms, sociological research can make a major contribution to policy and public debate. While these chapters do not claim that sociology will provide all the answers, they demonstrate that it has made real progress in understanding the social changes that Britain has experienced in recent decades.

This chapter examines the sociology of schooling in India, and describes the contours of this field of research. It highlights the failure to realize the full potential of sociological research in ...
More

This chapter examines the sociology of schooling in India, and describes the contours of this field of research. It highlights the failure to realize the full potential of sociological research in India, and to open up the so-called black box of schooling. The author feels that Indian schools and classrooms are among the most under-researched segments of the sociology of education (SoE), and this neglect has led to a glossing over of complex processes that mediate school experiences and influence learning in children. She stresses the need for sociologists to study learning contexts and schooling processes in order to better understand the potential and limitations of the institution of formal education in India. In this context, the author discusses the complex practices and processes of discrimination, disadvantage, as well as spaces that provide opportunities for exclusion of lower caste students, or dalits, within educational institutions. The author feels that SoE has a critical role to play in bringing in the language of possibility for the equitable inclusion of such excluded groups. For this, the building of a theoretical and empirical understanding of schools as institutions within Indian society—keeping in mind their linkages with the larger social context—becomes very important.Less

Opening Up the Black Box? : Sociologists and the Study of Schooling in India

Geetha B. NambissanS. Srinivasa Rao

Published in print: 2012-10-01

This chapter examines the sociology of schooling in India, and describes the contours of this field of research. It highlights the failure to realize the full potential of sociological research in India, and to open up the so-called black box of schooling. The author feels that Indian schools and classrooms are among the most under-researched segments of the sociology of education (SoE), and this neglect has led to a glossing over of complex processes that mediate school experiences and influence learning in children. She stresses the need for sociologists to study learning contexts and schooling processes in order to better understand the potential and limitations of the institution of formal education in India. In this context, the author discusses the complex practices and processes of discrimination, disadvantage, as well as spaces that provide opportunities for exclusion of lower caste students, or dalits, within educational institutions. The author feels that SoE has a critical role to play in bringing in the language of possibility for the equitable inclusion of such excluded groups. For this, the building of a theoretical and empirical understanding of schools as institutions within Indian society—keeping in mind their linkages with the larger social context—becomes very important.

A new generation of neighborhood-level research has emerged in recent years to address the question of why so many health-related outcomes are concentrated ecologically. This chapter highlights the ...
More

A new generation of neighborhood-level research has emerged in recent years to address the question of why so many health-related outcomes are concentrated ecologically. This chapter highlights the implications of such research for our knowledge about the community-level context of public health and safety. Drawing on recent lessons from sociological research, it identifies what it is about neighborhoods—above and beyond the status and attributes of the individuals who live there—that might lead to various health outcomes.Less

Neighborhood-Level Context and Health: Lessons from Sociology

Robert J. Sampson

Published in print: 2003-05-08

A new generation of neighborhood-level research has emerged in recent years to address the question of why so many health-related outcomes are concentrated ecologically. This chapter highlights the implications of such research for our knowledge about the community-level context of public health and safety. Drawing on recent lessons from sociological research, it identifies what it is about neighborhoods—above and beyond the status and attributes of the individuals who live there—that might lead to various health outcomes.

This chapter is sympathetic to Burawoy's position. It argues that it is not just the findings of sociological research that contribute to public discourse on issues such as persistent poverty, urban ...
More

This chapter is sympathetic to Burawoy's position. It argues that it is not just the findings of sociological research that contribute to public discourse on issues such as persistent poverty, urban planning, and criminal justice. Even more important are sociological frameworks, concepts such as labeling and concentration effects, which have become staples of public discussion and policy processes. The key to extending the range of sociological influence is lucid writing. The chapter also explicitly takes on the claim that public sociology will undermine professional sociology. Rather than challenging the legitimacy of professional sociology, public sociology will enhance that legitimacy. The chapter limits its comments to what Burawoy has called “traditional” public sociology, the sociology of op-ed pages and books written for a mixture of lay and professional audiences.Less

Speaking to Publics

William Julius Wilson

Published in print: 2007-06-06

This chapter is sympathetic to Burawoy's position. It argues that it is not just the findings of sociological research that contribute to public discourse on issues such as persistent poverty, urban planning, and criminal justice. Even more important are sociological frameworks, concepts such as labeling and concentration effects, which have become staples of public discussion and policy processes. The key to extending the range of sociological influence is lucid writing. The chapter also explicitly takes on the claim that public sociology will undermine professional sociology. Rather than challenging the legitimacy of professional sociology, public sociology will enhance that legitimacy. The chapter limits its comments to what Burawoy has called “traditional” public sociology, the sociology of op-ed pages and books written for a mixture of lay and professional audiences.

This chapter discusses social work in relation to other fields and disciplines. The underlying assumption is that social work research and practice have much to gain by welcoming their relationship ...
More

This chapter discusses social work in relation to other fields and disciplines. The underlying assumption is that social work research and practice have much to gain by welcoming their relationship to other bordering fields — particularly sociology. First, the chapter outlines the scope and nature of what sociological social work might encompass. Second, it looks at how sociologists and social workers have understood their relationship. The heart of this section is an introduction to a series of sociologists who are doing work that treats social work as of sociological interest. Finally, the chapter outlines a case about how the methods of inquiry that are associated with qualitative sociological research are open to ‘translation’ such that they may become a form of practice.Less

Sociological social work: a case example

Ian Shaw

Published in print: 2018-02-07

This chapter discusses social work in relation to other fields and disciplines. The underlying assumption is that social work research and practice have much to gain by welcoming their relationship to other bordering fields — particularly sociology. First, the chapter outlines the scope and nature of what sociological social work might encompass. Second, it looks at how sociologists and social workers have understood their relationship. The heart of this section is an introduction to a series of sociologists who are doing work that treats social work as of sociological interest. Finally, the chapter outlines a case about how the methods of inquiry that are associated with qualitative sociological research are open to ‘translation’ such that they may become a form of practice.

This chapter seeks to paint a portrait of contemporary Russian society, as the real social processes and attitudes of post-reform Russia suggest an open-ended state of “permanent transition” for ...
More

This chapter seeks to paint a portrait of contemporary Russian society, as the real social processes and attitudes of post-reform Russia suggest an open-ended state of “permanent transition” for Russia, in which the future of democratic institutions remains uncertain. It uses quantitative sociological research to provide a series of indicators for determining contemporary Russian views on a number of salient questions about the profound social, political, and economic transformations associated with post-reform Russia, thus contributing a more nuanced understanding to the more general qualitative questions of Russian identity, norms, and attitudes. The chapter also offers an annotated list of “Russian realities” that should debunk the myths about the motives of Russian people's behavior.Less

The Sociology of Post-reform Russia

Mikhail K. Gorshkov

Published in print: 2011-05-01

This chapter seeks to paint a portrait of contemporary Russian society, as the real social processes and attitudes of post-reform Russia suggest an open-ended state of “permanent transition” for Russia, in which the future of democratic institutions remains uncertain. It uses quantitative sociological research to provide a series of indicators for determining contemporary Russian views on a number of salient questions about the profound social, political, and economic transformations associated with post-reform Russia, thus contributing a more nuanced understanding to the more general qualitative questions of Russian identity, norms, and attitudes. The chapter also offers an annotated list of “Russian realities” that should debunk the myths about the motives of Russian people's behavior.

This chapter argues that instrumental and reflexive knowledge should be deployed together. It holds that the exclusion of reflexivity from any sociology would constitute a disastrous error. Sociology ...
More

This chapter argues that instrumental and reflexive knowledge should be deployed together. It holds that the exclusion of reflexivity from any sociology would constitute a disastrous error. Sociology is inevitably value-laden, not only because people are all embedded within particular standpoints, but because the social process is itself a process of values: not so much in the knower as in the known. All categories of analysis are shaped by values, and to pretend otherwise is to create bad sociology. The chapter argues that sociological research must always be both instrumental and reflexive. In contrast to a distinctive public sociology, Abbott calls for a consistently humanist sociology which requires one to consider and modify categories and analyses continuously in order to take a moral stance as sociologists.Less

For Humanist Sociology

Andrew Abbott

Published in print: 2007-06-06

This chapter argues that instrumental and reflexive knowledge should be deployed together. It holds that the exclusion of reflexivity from any sociology would constitute a disastrous error. Sociology is inevitably value-laden, not only because people are all embedded within particular standpoints, but because the social process is itself a process of values: not so much in the knower as in the known. All categories of analysis are shaped by values, and to pretend otherwise is to create bad sociology. The chapter argues that sociological research must always be both instrumental and reflexive. In contrast to a distinctive public sociology, Abbott calls for a consistently humanist sociology which requires one to consider and modify categories and analyses continuously in order to take a moral stance as sociologists.

This concluding chapter summarizes the theoretical implications of the study's findings in terms of sociological research on homelessness as well as critical urban studies of globalization and ...
More

This concluding chapter summarizes the theoretical implications of the study's findings in terms of sociological research on homelessness as well as critical urban studies of globalization and marginalized populations. It also outlines the policy implications of the analysis. It argues that in order to end homelessness in global cities, localities must extend dialogue and efforts beyond those focused on persons on the streets over the long term, and promote forgiving contexts at multiple levels that can make even short-term homelessness a rarity. A forgiving context at the global level would be one in which dialogue about various forms of capitalism and welfare regimes and their strengths and weaknesses is encouraged and used as a springboard for action and policy change.Less

The Multilevel Contexts of Exiting Homelessness

Matthew D. Marr

Published in print: 2015-01-15

This concluding chapter summarizes the theoretical implications of the study's findings in terms of sociological research on homelessness as well as critical urban studies of globalization and marginalized populations. It also outlines the policy implications of the analysis. It argues that in order to end homelessness in global cities, localities must extend dialogue and efforts beyond those focused on persons on the streets over the long term, and promote forgiving contexts at multiple levels that can make even short-term homelessness a rarity. A forgiving context at the global level would be one in which dialogue about various forms of capitalism and welfare regimes and their strengths and weaknesses is encouraged and used as a springboard for action and policy change.